Can't Stop the Music

It virtually managed to end the careers of the Village People, Valerie Perrine, and Steve Guttenberg. If you're like me, you've never really understood why people thought Guttenberg was so incompetent. He's certainly not a great serious actor (see The Bedroom Window), but he seems pleasant enough in those Police Academy films. After watching this, I understand how he developed his notoriety.

NUDITY REPORT

There are many naked men in the YMCA shower, including many full-frontals - despite a PG rating!

Valerie Perrine is topless in the YMCA swimming pool.

It virtually managed to end the disco era.
It virtually managed to destroy the movie musical.
The film stars famed Olympian Bruce Jenner. Although he has no talent at all, he seems like Ken Branagh compared to the rest of the cast. Perrine, Paul Sand, Guttenberg, and the Village People delivered all their lines by shouting them robustly, with plenty of body English, and wacky facial expressions.

Photo essay: The Village People Story
Widescreen anamorphic format

The DVD box says, "reviled by critics, it is still a jaw-dropping experience ... unimaginable performances". In other words, the Anchor Bay marketing department figured out that the only way to sell this was as a campy "bad movie" experience.

And they were right.

The Critics Vote

Rotten Tomatoes summary. No positive reviews. Not even any lukewarm ones.

The People Vote ...

IMDB summary. IMDb voters score it 3.4/10

IMDb guideline: 7.5 usually indicates a level of excellence, about like three and a half stars from the critics. 6.0 usually indicates lukewarm watchability, about like two and a half stars from the critics. The fives are generally not worthwhile unless they are really your kind of material, about like two stars from the critics. Films under five are generally awful even if you like that kind of film, equivalent to about one and a half stars from the critics or less, depending on just how far below five the rating is.

My own guideline: A means the movie is so good it will appeal to you even if you hate the genre. B means the movie is not good enough to win you over if you hate the genre, but is good enough to do so if you have an open mind about this type of film. C means it will only appeal to genre addicts, and has no crossover appeal. D means you'll hate it even if you like the genre. E means that you'll hate it even if you love the genre. F means that the film is not only unappealing across-the-board, but technically inept as well.

Based on this description, E. It's unimaginably bad. BUT - it is a must-see. The complete lack of quality is, in itself, tremendous entertainment. You won't be able to watch the entire movie, but you have to watch a little bit of it, just to redefine the limits of what a movie can be.